Mo’unga set for Toshiba return — and reunion with his ex-Canterbury coach

Toshiba Brave Lupus superstar Richie Mo’unga returns to action on Saturday for the first time since steering his side to back-to-back League One titles in June. 

Mo’unga, 31, opened the scoring after five minutes with a sublime solo effort and added eight points from his boot to inspire the Fuchu team to an 18-13 win over Kubota Spears, despite playing with a broken hand. 

The 2023 World Cup runner-up, who won the Japan Rugby League One MVP award for the second season in a row, is entering the final year of his lucrative contract before he returns home to New Zealand next summer in order to become eligible again to represent his country ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

Mo'unga will prepare for his third and final season in Japan by returning to the field for Toshiba’s third pre-season game against Glenn Delaney’s Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars with four weeks until the new League One season kicks off.  

Mo'unga in League One action against the Dynaboars - (c) JRLO

Toshiba head coach and former All Black Todd Blackadder has picked a strong line-up for their home fixture with Mo’unga and Fiji star Seta Tamanivalu both starting while highly-rated Tjay Clarke – a summer signing from the Hurricanes – makes his debut at full-back.

Japan-qualified lock Michael Stolberg, a new arrival from Black Rams Tokyo, also makes his bow for the champions.

Loose-head prop Teruo Makabe, lock Jacob Pierce, open-side flanker Takeshi Sasaki and scrum-half Yuhei Sugiyama, who are all regular starters, are among the replacements. 

Toshiba's team to play Mitsubishi on Saturday

The DynaBoars have also picked a solid XV that features key players as well-travelled Delaney - who led a Mo’unga-inspired Canterbury team to their 14th national provincial title in 2017 - opts for experience with former All Black Jackson Hemopo, the familiar half-back pairing of Kōta Iwamura and English fly-half James Grayson, and vastly-experienced outside-centre Matt Vaega all named to start.

New signing Jose Seru, who represented Japan in sevens at the Tokyo Olympics, has been handed the number eight jersey.

South African prop Pieter Scholtz, who joined from Aviron Bayonnais in July, and October addition Gideon Koegelenberg, a lock from URC side Benetton, feature among the replacements.

Their latest and highest-profile acquisition, Springboks star and two-time World Cup winner Lukhanyo Am, is currently on the standby list for his country’s Autumn Nations Series campaign and therefore is yet to link up with his new Japanese team. 

The Mitsubishi Dynaboars side to face the champions in Fuchu

The visitors finished a respectable ninth last season in their new head coach’s first season in charge with an eight-point cushion above the relegation play-off zone.

Champions Toshiba will encounter top-flight opposition for the first time in pre-season as they step up their preparations for the new campaign which starts on Sunday 14 December against inaugural League One winners Saitama Wild Knights.

Bidding for an unprecedented ‘three-peat’ in 2026, Toshiba has fielded second-string sides to see off second division Kintetsu Liners (41-33) and Hino Red Dolphins (36-22) before illustrating the depth of their squad by demolishing third tier outfit LeRIRO Fukuoka (66-5) a fortnight ago.

The Dynaboars, who launch their season away at Graham Rowntree’s Urayasu D-Rocks on Saturday 13 December, have defeated top-flight rivals Black Rams Tokyo (38-21) and second division opposition Koto Blue Sharks (33-7) either side of back-to-back losses to perennial League One contenders Kubota Spears (19-38) and Saitama (14-26).